Themes Challenge
by The Original Hansenette
Summary: So, there is 100 themes...and I'm gonna try my best to do them all. Wish me luck!
1. Introductions

Introductions

"Hey Sly?"  
>"No." The brown tiger didn't even bother to look at his golden counterpart and carried on drawing on his sketchpad. Ty rolled his eyes and grabbed the paper pad away from him. Sly launched himself at his brother and landed on his chest.<br>"Gimme it back."  
>"Not until you listen." Ty answered, clinging onto the pad. Sly growled and sat back on the chair. Ty eyed him carefully.<br>"OK! You've been here for a couple of weeks and you still don't know anyone but me!"  
>"Well yeah. Because these people think I'm scary and a "bad" guy." Sly answered, folding his arms. The brown tiger rested his head on the table in front of him. Ty sighed.<br>"Well, Sly. You aren't really giving yourself a chance to show them you aren't a bad guy. Aren't you a tiny bit lonely?"  
>"Not really. You've been bugging me enough to make up for at least 6 people." Sly's voice was slightly muffled by his arms. Ty sighed and pulled his brother up by his collar. Sly looked up at his brother's bright green eyes and groaned.<br>"Fine. I'll do it. Just to cheer you up. Depression doesn't suit you." Ty laughed at the last bit as Sly cracked a rare genuine grin. Ty grabbed his brown brother's arm and pulled him out to meet his girlfriend who was doing something to her truck.  
>"Shazza!" Ty hollered at the dingo. Shazza turned around and let out a yell as she saw a darker tiger standing behind her Possum. The other tiger shrunk down as she swung her wrench in his direction.<br>"Woah! Crazy lady! Don't kill me!" Sly yelled back as Shazza swung at him again. The brown tiger hid behind his big brother as Shazza swung for his head.  
>"Get away from my Possum!"<br>"Get away from my head with that heavy tool!" Ty rolled his eyes as his girlfriend and his brother were locked in semi combat.  
>"What is your PROBLEM?" Sly shouted as he curled against his brother's back, head peeking out over Ty's shoulder.<br>"Come out and take it like a man, you goon!" The dingo let out another yell as she swung the wrench around Ty and barely missed Sly's back. Sly yelled loudly as Shazza lifted her wrench up above her head and was just about to hit the brown Tasmanian tiger over the head when;  
>"Shazza, don't kill him. He's not a bad guy. He just looks like one."<br>"HEY! I resent that!" Sly answered, head pressed into Ty's back to get some protection from the dingo. Shazza lowered her wrench and looked at Sly critically.  
>"Well, he don't look too nice, Possum. You sure?"<br>"Pretty sure. He's my brother, Shaz." Shazza looked visibly shocked by the announcement but when she looked at Sly harder, she did she the resemblance between them. She then rubbed the back of her head with a look of embarrassment.  
>"Well, I'm sorry, mate. You just looked mighty suspicious tailing Ty." Sly peeked out over Ty's shoulder again, ears pined back in wariness. Shazza looked at the darker tiger with a bit of embarrassment mixed into her apologetic eyes. Sly stepped out from behind Ty with a pointed glance over to his brother.<br>"And you want me to meet MORE people?"

...

For the rest of the day, Ty dragged his younger twin around the town, introducing him to everyone and anyone while Sly got a lot of shrieks and yells and abuse from the folks in Ty's home town before they realised who he was. Then he got a lot of apologies. A LOT of apologies. Sly sat at the table, sketch pad in hand, darkening the lines for a new design he had thought up. He looked over to his sleeping brother. Well, Ty had tried his best...but Sly was a bit more of an unsocial character. He liked his peace and quiet...until his new family woke up and decided they were going to go cliff jumping or crocodile hunting or something. Sly sighed and put down his pad. A small grin worked it's way across his face. He might start to enjoy this crazy situation after all.

...  
><strong>OK, there's the thing. I have writer's block and I choose to do a Theme's Challenge to try and combat this. I picked the Ty fandom cos...well, not much is going on here and I love this game with a passion so...I want to make it bigger! Read and review, if you would do me the honour. <strong>

"Then I had to restart the whole universe! Long story..."

**Elli x**


	2. Love

Love 

As there always was on a Tuesday morning, there was a bunch of wildflowers on the table when Di walked in. She smiled and picked up the delicate flowers, letting their brightly coloured petals rest gently against her palm. She busied herself to go find somewhere to put them. As she always did, she wondered how the flowers got there. She **knew **it wasn't her husband. He wasn't into the flowers and chocolates kind of thing. To be honest, he was more likely to buy her a new car than to give her a bouquet of flowers. She hummed gently, placing the flowers into a vase by the window. Perhaps it was Ty who put them there. Then the golden tiger's mother shook her head smiling. The older tiger may be a sweetheart but flowers? Not his style. Maybe chocolates or tidying up for her without being asked but not flowers. She looked over to the flowers again. The colours were matched together, the lightish blues and the brighter yellows contrasting sweetly. She looked out of the window to see the sun streaking over the trees. The day was bright and summery. She could almost see the outline of Sly's shack on that treacherously steep mountain. She worried about her youngest son sometimes, he always seemed so far away from everyone else. But he was a dreamer, he was "away with the fairies" as Maurie had said. Sly was perfectly content to be designing boomerangs in the peace and quiet of his own home rather than with Ty in the Bush Rescue Headquarters with everyone else. He did come down to see his parents at least once a day though and Ty spent quite a lot of time "visiting" his brother. Her younger son had actually asked her, no, begged her to stop Ty from annoying him but Ty had just laughed.  
><em>"I'm not annoying you, I'm introducing you to society, one step at a time!" <em>  
>The female tiger grinned and opened the kitchen curtains. That's when she noticed her youngest son sitting in the garden, tending her flowers. Di stood watching Sly for a while, watching as he gently pulled the weeds and watered her flower patch while everyone else was still sleeping. Or while he thought everyone was still sleeping. The tiger watched her son carefully. He was always so secretive. He never told people personal things about himself. He always looked so tough too with that shark tooth necklace and the dark eyes. But here he was, face relaxed and missing the trademark scowl he normally wore, carefully watering her flowers, sunlight streaming around him. He looked content here, free from the worries that usually plagued him. Di made her way to the garden and stood by the door, gentle smile adorning her features as her son failed to notice he had an audience. The female tigress coughed softly and couldn't hold back a grin when Sly jumped up a metre. He twirled around and saw his mother. The darker tiger paused and hid the trowel behind his back in a weak attempt to hide what he had been doing.<br>"Hi, mum. What are you doing up so early?" Sly asked, rough voice sounding higher than usual.  
>"Hmm, I suppose the better question is what you are doing here so early, Sly?" Di smiled, as her son blinked quickly.<br>"Umm, you know, uh, nothing much..." Sly said, edging his way over to the garden gate. Di made her way over to her son, grin lighting up her face.  
>"I'm guessing you're the one to thank for the flowers, huh?" Sly's face reddened around his cheeks and he scratched his head with the trowel softly.<br>"Yeah..." Sly looked anywhere but at his mother, eyes darting away from the tigress' emerald gaze.  
>"Thank you, sweetie. But, if you don't me asking, why?" Sly blinked a few times.<br>"Well...uh, you...I guess I thought you...were a bit ashamed of me...I mean, you guys are always really proud of Ty and...I'm nothing like him! So I gave you flowers cos...well, you always look so happy after you got them in the morning and I guess, it made me feel a bit better too..." Di was shocked by this. Her heart was melted by her son's obvious embarrassment and felt a surge of sympathy go out to him. He had thought she was ashamed of him? That was not possible. Sly was one of the bravest people she knew. He had defied his "father" to do what was right, had defied everything he had ever known, for them, for his family. Di wrapped her arms around her baby boy.  
>"Sly, sweetie, I couldn't not be proud of you. OK? Being ashamed of you...that's not possible." Sly wrapped his own arms around his mother, finding comfort in the tight embrace.<br>"You hear me?"  
>"Uh huh."<br>"I love you, Sly."  
>"I love you too, mum."<p>

...

**N'awww. :3 That was really fun to write! I just love fluff. But I cannot do romance. Euck. Oh yeah, most of my stories will be about Sly and a lot will probably be whump too. Just a warning! **

"**I missed you, you stupid, horrible, awful, amazing, beautiful, funny, smart, gentle idiot!"**

**Elli x**


	3. Light

Light

The brown Tasmanian tiger looked at his golden counterpart in what could only be described as envy. He was the normal colour, a bright shimmering yellow. Sly looked at his own fur, an unnatural darkish browny orange. He sighed and the air blew the fur around his paw in different directions. It was a warm, sunny Australian day and the two brothers were sitting in the Bush Rescue headquarters, taking shade from the hard hitting sunshine. The light was unbearable at this time of day. Sly looked around him. Shazza was chatting to Ty while Maurie was snoozing in a chair. Everything was quiet. Well, it should have been. Sly's mind was going over time, annoyance running through his mind. Why was he the different one? The wildcard. The traitor. The one everyone expected to go AWOL and help Cass take over the world or something. No one seemed to understand that he had tried. That he had tried to do the right thing but was always too scared to leave the only family he had known. But he had plucked up the courage and leapt into the light and now, everyone still expected him to be the dark. To be the little speck of failure on his family's clean record. Sly hated it. He was trying. Trying to be a good guy like Ty. It seemed so easy for his brother. It wasn't fair that something Ty didn't even have to think about was such a trial to his older brother. The worst thing was that he didn't even notice that it was hard of Sly. It was hard for him to use his words instead of snarling at someone to get his point across. It was hard for him not to bite someone when they touched him when he was clearly sending the signals to stay away. It was hard not to slip into his old habits. He had grown up thinking that it was OK to fight, to growl, to snarl, to bite, to do anything to protect himself. Granted he hadn't learnt the last one from Cass. They last one was from the lizards.

"_Aww, look at the stupid little cub. Can't even look after himself. We're not even trying to do any damage but he's still crying for his daddy. What would Cass want with such a little weakling?"  
>"Weak."<br>"Pathetic."  
>"Useless."<br>"_ _Stupid."  
>"Little brat."<br>"Idiot."  
>"No wonder his family abandoned him..."<em>

Sly shivered away from the memory and grabbed his arms for comfort. He felt a coldness settle in his stomach in the blistering warmth. Sly turned to look over to his brother and the dingo. They hadn't noticed his hurt, his pain. Ty looked up and frowned at the sight of his tough brother hugging himself tightly.  
>"Alright, Sly?" Ty asked, mind set to talk to him tonight. He had been acting weird and Ty wanted to know what was going on with his older brother. Sly looked at him and gave a weak smile. He turned back around and let his head sink into his folded arms.<p>

Sometimes, it was almost impossible to walk in the light.

...

**3 down, 97 to go.** **Get in there and write! Thanks to all the reviewers especially to Tina Tissue! Thanks dude, I was like "they are either twins or one is older than the other" but I couldn't find any info on their ages so I picked one at random. :3 Let's just say Ty was older in sense of responsibility and they were twins in the sense of looks. Thanks again, have a cookie! *bestows cookie***

**I reject your reality and substitute my own!**

**Elli x**


	4. Dark

Dark

It was dark out. The blistering sun was gone. Ty sat, wide awake, worry infiltrating most of his thoughts. He was going to talk to his older brother about his odd behaviour earlier. But he hadn't plucked up the courage to talk to him about it. Sly was notoriously sensitive to personal questions as well as being exceptionally easy to provoke. Ty did not want to go there and get some insane reaction from the darker Tiger but he had to know what was bothering his older brother. Ty sat looking out the window, thinking when a yell broke the silence. Ty was on his feet in seconds and stopped momentarily to figure out where the yell had come from. Then he heard it again. There was no mistaking the low harsh rough tones. Ty legged it to Sly's room in the Bush Rescue headquarters. It had been late when they had gotten back to the town and Ty and Shazza had flat out refused to take Sly to his shack as they were paranoid he would fall going up to the death trap. By this point, Sly himself couldn't really argue because he was falling over his own two feet just walking to the Headquarters. So Sly had slept in his rarely used room this night. Ty didn't have time to think about this, he just bolted up to his brother's room. Ty froze in front of the door. He heard a soft...sobbing. Strangled cries reached Ty's ears. He jumped as a hand touched his shoulder. It was Shazza, blue eyes filled with sympathy.  
>"He's been crying out for hours, Possum. Something today must have set him off." Shazza said, gently grasping Ty's shoulder whilst looking at the door, listening the sobbing behind the door. Ty smiled at her gently and gestured for her to go back to her own room. Ty opened his older brother's door and froze. Sly was curled up in the bed, blanket thrown across the room, pillows strewn everywhere. Sly's dark face was tracked with tears that dripped down his cheeks.<p>

"_No...please. Don't-"_ _A fist slammed into the cub's face and threw him over to the wall. Sly looked up, light blue eyes streaming with tears. Another lizard kicked the small child, laughing as he yelped at the harsh contact.  
>"Don't what? Oh, is little Sly crying? Hmm? Can't he take a little pain?" A fist fell down onto his skull, making Sly's vision bounce painfully. That's when everything started to fade.<em>

Sly shot up, sweat falling from his face. He rubbed his face and cursed himself for crying. He wasn't a cub anymore. He was a fully grown adult.  
>"Sly?" A quiet voice in the corner piped up. Sly snarled and turned quickly, still in the mind set of his nightmare. He blinked a few times in shock.<br>"Ty?" Sly asked, eyes widening. Ty had seen all this? Seen everything? Heard him?  
>"Sly, what's wrong? Why were you crying? You never cry! Ever!" Ty said quickly and Sly could see in the light that the golden tiger was a lot paler that usual. He had scared his younger brother.<br>"Nothing. It's nothing." Sly was putting up his walls, pushing Ty away. Ty stood up.  
>"This is more than nothing! You were crying. Was...was it something that...happened to you? Did Cass..." Sly choked.<br>"Oh. No, Ty...Cass was my dad, I guess. He'd never do anything like them..."  
>"Like who, Sly?" Ty asked, brow furrowed deeply.<br>"Like the lizards." Sly answered with a soft gasp. "The lizards used to hurt me cos they knew they could. I couldn't even show Dad because they knew not to leave bruises. They would lock me in cupboards and leave me in the dark even though they knew I couldn't handle the dark as a kid. They...they were always so..." Sly's light blue eyes filled with tears. He hid his face, ashamed of the show of weakness. Ty held his older brother's chin.  
>"Sly, don't worry. They can't get you. Not while I'm still here. They don't have a hope in hell fo getting you while I'm still here. Ok?" Sly nodded and let the tears fall from his eyes. Ty wrapped his arms around his older brother and let him crying into his fur. Sly had been hurt as a child. Badly. Ty sighed gently. The dark had receded to the edges of the room when the light from the hall way but the darkness in the older Tasmanian tiger's mind was still going strong. Ty felt a pang of sympathy towards his darker counterpart.<p>

Sly could never, ever catch a break.

...

**Naw, Sly. ;D I love him really but plot bunnies attacked me from behind. Oh well.  
>Hope you liked it! Stay tuned for the next instalment. Seriously guys, Youtube "An Eala Bhan" if you want to hear some music to go with this piece. I wrote it listening to this Gaidhlig tune and I felt my heart melt. :3<strong>

"**One day, when a guy sings an Eala Bhan to me without the words, I'll know. I'll know that's love."**

**Elli x**


	5. Seeking Solace

Seeking Solace

Everything sort of built up, sometimes. Ty had too much pressure on his shoulders sometimes and he often got a bit stressed out about it. He was a hero, he could deal with that. But sometimes it seemed as if the entire world was relying on him, as if they were sitting heavily on his shoulders. Today was one of these times. Ty just needed out...just for a while. Not for long. Just to relax and kick back like a normal guy. Ty shrugged his shoulders and made his way down the town to the lock were Shazza most likely was. He hopped over the bridge waving to random people as he went. He loved being a hero and helping people out, there was no denying, but it did get really hard sometimes. Too hard. Ty climbed into the back of the 4x4 and asked Shazza to take him to the mountain. Shazza looked up at him.  
>"You alright, Possum? You're looking kinda stressed out." The dingo asked, eyes filled with concern. Ty gave her a tired smile, trying to tell her that he was fine. That there was nothing to worry about. Shazza made a face but let it go. She didn't really understand. Didn't understand how hard it got sometimes for Ty to just drop everything and go save the world yet again. But she did understand the stress of the situations they often found themselves in. When the odds were against you and you weren't just fighting for your own life but for hundreds of other people, many of which you have never met. The 4x4 cruised through the Outback, flashes of green foliage blurring together with the reddish brown dusty track. Ty relished the wind going through his short fur and he heard Shazza giggle as he stretched out his arms and let his head fall back. He shook himself off afterwards and smiled at Shazza through the rear view window.<br>"What?"  
>"What is so funny about me enjoying the wind?" Ty asked, green eyes glittering. Shazza stifled a giggle.<br>"It's not that, Possum. It's the fact that your fur is still sticking up." Ty's eyes widened and he looked down. Sure enough, his short golden fur was still all puffy and sticking out like he had gotten a shock. As he flattened his fur back down, he smiled to himself. This was what he needed. To feel normal. To feel as if the world didn't sit on his shoulders. But just as he was starting to feel better, a barrage of Frill Lizards shot towards them. Ty groaned and let them have it but his gloomy mood had returned. Why couldn't they go find something to go do? The 4x4 stopped by the gate and Shazza let Ty off. Shazza told Ty to phone her when he was going to go back to the Bush Rescue Headquarters. Ty nodded and started over to the mountain by going though the meadow. Once he reached the mountain, he started to climb the odd staircase of sorts. When he reached the top, he was standing in front of a house. Ty didn't bother knocking the door, he just opened it up and walked in. His darker brother didn't look up from his work but he did acknowledge Ty's presence.  
>"Hey Sly? Can I stay up here...just for a while?" Ty asked, leaning on the door frame. Sly's light blue eyes glanced over at Ty and understood.<br>"Sure." Ty grinned and sat on Sly's couch and started talking to Sly. His brother didn't give too long answers but it didn't matter. He understood. He had been there before. And then he knew that Sly was always going to be there when Ty was seeking solace.

...

**Urgh. I'm ill today so here's a chapter early. I may do another one later depending on how I'm feeling. Thanks to Tina Tissue for being my number 1 reviewer! ;) **

"**Shut up before I throw my piano at you, you Neanderthal!" **

**Elli x**


	6. Break Away

Break Away

Sly had a terrible habit of breaking away from the group during a fight. He would be beside Ty one minute then up on a ridge on the other side of the battle taking down some dudes no one had noticed before. At first, Ty had freaked out when he noticed Sly had disappeared and lived up to his namesake, but later on, he noticed his brother was just too used to flying solo and could take care of himself with ease. He was the older brother and felt like there was no need for Ty to worry about him. In fact, the darker counterpart had asked Ty why he was so scared when Sly had taken off. Ty had spun some lies about formation and the mission but truely, he just didn't want to see Sly hurt again. And he didn't want his mother to come and kill him while he slept because he had allowed Sly to get injured. Even though, as Ty had protested, that Sly was the older one and shouldn't _he _be looking out for Ty? His mother had just narrowed her eyes so Ty just took that as a cue to drop that topic like a hot pot. Sly could look after himself but Ty had to make sure he didn't kill himself or get eaten or something. Right.

So this time, he didn't bat an eyelid at the fact his darker brother had just done a Houdini. He did however panic when he heard a yell echoing out though the battle worn field. A yell of pain. One he had heard before and wished never to hear again. Ty locked eyes with Shazza and saw the fear reflecting back in her crystal clear blue eyes. The golden tiger had turned on his heel and ran. Ran in the direction of the shouts. When he reached the scene, Sly was curled up on the ground. Lizards were taunting him, holding the prized boomerangs above his reach. Ty gasped when one of them actually pressed the lavarang to Sly's fur and laughed (_laughed_) as Sly yelled out in pain, eyes screwed shut tightly. Ty also saw his brother protecting his stomach and winced in sympathy as Sly yelped when one of the lizards kicked him in the gut. What he wasn't expecting was for Sly to roll over onto his back and let the world see just why he was on the ground instead of snarling and biting and throwing stuff and, basically, kicking ass. The huge gaping hole across his abdomen, leaking blood like he had gallons of the stuff to spare. Which he did not. Ty glared and snarled loudly, making the sadistic lizards jump. They turned to see a very angry Tiger before the gold blur knocked them sideways. Ty stood crouched in front of Sly. He wanted to end each and every one of them. But not now. He couldn't. Not while Sly was leaking blood everywhere. He needed more attention right now from the Tasmanian Tiger than these lizards had ever deserved. Ty growled.  
>"Leave. Now." The lizards bolted, dropping the boomerangs on the dusty Outback ground. Ty knelt down beside Sly and looked over his injuries. Big cut crossing his chest (how did they do that? The answer sickened Ty. One of the lizards had used one of the points on Sly's new prototype boomerang; the same one he had slaved over for weeks, pouring the work into, to try and slit open his belly), the branding, singeing burn of the lavarang that had been placed over his upper arm and the various cuts and bruises that the beating had gathered. It was clear what had happened. A group had ambushed Sly (labelled as "the traitor" in Cass' ranks) and others had joined in for some late revenge at leaving them hanging. They had pinned him down, taken his weapons and proceeded to attack. It was sickening. Sly groaned, head lolling to one side. He cracked open an ice blue eye and Ty watched his face relax at the blur of gold taking up his vision. The younger brother watched as Sly grinned slightly and then relax fully.<br>"No. No. No no no no no. Sly! Don't go to sleep! No! Stay with me. Come on, Sly, don't do this..."  
>Sly was vaguely aware of Ty's words and fought against the dark for a little while before he gave up and fell into the nice calm abyss.<p>

...

**Phew! I am SO SORRY I haven't been updating recently but I've got exams coming up and revising has become my sole purpose in life. *sigh* Anyways, I'm going to be trying to update this and my other stories too over the exam period but it might be kind of touch and go so just bear with me!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviews! I love you all more than Nutella. And I love Nutella. A lot. :3**

"**The dragon lives on..." "Why...Why are you two my friends? Where did my life go wrong?"**

**Elli x**


	7. Heaven

Heaven

Sly cracked open an eye and saw white. Only white.

_"Interesting...Where am I?"_

Sly shut his eye again and forced himself to open both eyes. Which was a lot harder than it sounds. Again. White. White fluffiness. Sly shrugged and poked the white fluff with a tentative paw. No, it was most definitely inanimate. And nice and warm. Sly couldn't help but wrap the warm thing around himself tightly. He wasn't cold or anything, it was just nice.

_"As cosy as this is, doesn't tell me where I am."_

Sly looked around the fluff and looked down on himself. A white bandage was wound around his waist. Hmm. Sly pressed the bandage gently and hissed loudly as it flared with pain.  
><em>"Let's NOT do that again...Oh heck. I'm dead." <em>Sly's rather drug addled brain had come to the conclusion that he had died and gone to heaven. Well. It would explain the warm white thingy. Sly closed his eyes again. He's dead. That's not good. Then he thought about it clearly. He didn't feel dead. Sly opened his eyes again and pushed the white thing up. It fell off his head and revealed the hospital room in all its sterile glory. Sly looked around. Morphine. Ah. Well that explained the "dead" theory. His icy blue eyes followed the morphine drip until it reached his arm. Sly sighed quietly and noticed the gold thingy sitting in the corner. Sly looked over at his brother who was dead to the world. He was out cold on the chair, arms draped over the back board and head sitting squarely on his chest. Sly fought the urge to giggle and then was disturbed by the impulse.

_"Gah, what is this stuff? It can't be bog standard morphine..." _

Sly coughed lightly and winced as the pain in his chest struck out at him. Ow. That was bad. Sly heard a noise and turned to see Ty waking up. Sly sat and waited for Ty to wake up naturally. If he tried to wake him up then the older brother would be grievously wounded. Ty may be the morning person of the bunch but god forbid you try to wake him up before he is ready. Sly could relate. If he had his way, he would be sleeping into the afternoon but Ty phoned him. Every morning. To make sure he was awake. Sly rolled his eyes as Ty blinked sleepily until he noticed Sly sitting up.  
>"Sly! You're awake! How are you feeling?"<br>"...Fine, I guess. My chest hurts a bit though." Ty pulled a face.  
>"Yeah...that might hurt for a while." Sly frowned.<br>"Why? What happened, I don't remember very much..." Sly asked, rubbing his head gently.  
>"You were ambushed...by some Frills...they weren't gentle and you got hurt. Bad. It was...was touch and go for a while back there." Ty made another face; a grimace twisted with pain of what could have happened. Sly could have died. Very easily. Sly blinked.<br>"But I'm fine now. And I don't plan on going anywhere. Except maybe back to sleep." Ty laughed at that and within minutes Sly was back in dream land once again.

...

**Yes, I know the ending sucked but I want to finish this one up so I could put the next one up cos it's going to be a laughy one. :3**

"**We have a test today? ...You think I could fake my death? Just for today?"**

**Elli x**


	8. Innocence

Innocence

The kid stared at Sly with big wide eyes. Sly stared back at the kid with a bit of wariness. Ty had dumped the little koala on his older brother an hour or two ago with the parting words of "Gotta go, Frills, look after him, bye!" Sly had tried to argue and get up but Ty had just pushed him back into the chair. Sly couldn't go home to his house right now because his injuries were still too sensitive for him to go climbing up the mountain. So Sly had been bound to the Bush Rescue Headquarters by the threat of Ty and his mother collaborating to confine him to a sterile room. Forever. So the darker tiger decided to sit this out until they eventually decided he could leave. _(And oh what a glorious day that would be...) _

Anyway, back to the present. So a tiny koala that had been entrusted to Ty's care (Ty who was well known and trusted within the community) was now Sly's responsibility )Sly who...really wasn't that well known. Or trusted). Sly wasn't good with children as a rule. They were too loud and messy and ...ick. Children generally weren't good with Sly. He looked pretty damn scary when he was looking down on you, dark rimmed eyes narrowed and large incisors peeking out from his jaw. Ah well. The kid looked up at Sly who gave the koala a look of fear. The child realised that this big tiger was scared of him. The child stood up and went to touch Sly's knee in a way of reassurance, like his dad did when he was scared. Naturally Sly, in lack of a better word, freaked and tried to jerk away which resulted in the back of Sly's head making fast friends with the floor. Sly ignored the urge to yell out in pain as his chest was contorted in an excruciating position. The dark tiger felt the slice across his abdomen complain loudly as it was stretched out. So, naturally, Sly threw himself out of said position and landed flat on his back, almost eye to eye with the koala.  
>"What are you doin'?" The kid piped up. Sly eyed the child with a bit of wariness.<br>"I'm trying not to hurt myself or squish you." Sly answered with a growl, picking himself up from the floor.  
>"Oh. Why?"<br>"Well, I got hurt already and it was not good. It was bad and hurt. A lot. And I don't want to squish you or Ty would throw me off a cliff. And then take me back off the climb and throw me off a second time. Or Shazza would attack me with her wrench. Again." Sly made a face. He gave the koala a look.  
>"See? That's why squishing you would be a bad idea." The kid giggled at the expression on Sly's face. Sly himself couldn't stop the grin that was making its way onto his face. Sly could help the thoughts that made their way into his head. Is this what he would have been like as a child if he had grown up somewhere else? Would he have been so...damningly innocent about the world?<p>

...

**Meh, apparently I can't do funny. Oh wellz. At least it isn't too depressing so it's a plus for me. :3**

"**Kill it. Kill it with fire."**

**Elli x**


	9. Drive

Drive

Sly didn't mean to drive people away. He just didn't know what to do in social situations. He knew somewhere, deep down, that growling and hissing is wrong but that was the way he was brought up. He could never get rid of the instinct. It was an annoying reminder of his time with Cass and it basically told everyone he met he shouldn't be trusted. Ty had tried to get him to use his words more often and he was trying, he was trying so hard to remember. His parents had tried to teach him to talk more often rather than growling at people. But old habits die hard. Ty understood him though, when he forgot to use his words. He had learnt to just go with it and not pick on his older brother too much about it. Because no matter how scary and strong and tough Sly was, he was still very sensitive about other things. He could take being kicked in the head but he couldn't take Ty yelling without a sufficient reason.

Ty was fine with it.

Other people?

They just _freaked_.

They acted as if Sly had just tried to stab them. Which was how Sly ended up in his house whilst there was a party in down. Ty's party. He couldn't bring himself to go. He'd just ruin it. Like he ruined everything else. Ty should be having fun. Not worrying if tonight was the night Sly snapped his teeth at someone to tell them to _**stay away**_. Not worrying if Sly would snarl at someone and accidently cause mass mania. No, his little brother didn't deserve that pressure, that harshness.

He deserved not to worry.

Sly looked out his window, sitting cross legged on the floor. The moon was gleaming in the sky. The stars were like tiny candle flames.

"_Does the little cub not like fire?!" A Frill jeered, iron grip around Sly's wrist, pulling him closer to the table. Sly was no cub. He was almost an adult._

_That didn't mean he was any match for his group of tormentors. _

_The tiger jerked and twisted, eyes wide with terror. He had played this "game" of theirs before. They would make him sit and see how long they could burn his fur for before he cried. _

_He didn't give them the satisfaction._

_They grew smarter, learned where Cass wouldn't spot the cuts and burns. His back was littered with scars and shiny burns underneath the brown fur._

_So when they pulled away his shirt, Sly struggled tenfold, trying to bite the hands forcing him down in a desperate attempt to get __**away**__. He snarled and growled weakly to try and make them __**stop, just please stop**__. One of them mocked him, looking him straight in the eye._

"_Aw, does the tiger not want to play?" The lizard asked with fake sympathy. Sly bared his teeth in response, eyes darting around with fear. The lizard stroked his ear softly. _

"_Too bad." The lizard grabbed his ear and twisted and Sly snapped his teeth instinctually, trying to scare them into letting go because __**oh god, it hurt and he didn't want to**__. He wanted them to __**leave him alone**__. They laughed and jeered as he yelped under the heavy blow one lizard dealt his face. They moved the lighter to the small of his back and watched the light show._

_Sly didn't cry that time either._

Sly shook his head at the thought and curled himself up into a ball, eyes shuttered as the memories played out.

Sly didn't mean to drive people away.

He just wanted to be _safe_.

...

**Oh my! I am so sorry! I was kidnapped by exams but I've not forgotten about you guys! I promise to update more, I promise! **

**Elli x**


	10. Breathe Again

Breathe Again

Ty looked at his brother and found that he _couldn't breathe_. He had watched as Sly's hands had flown to his throat and he had collapsed to his knees, clawing at his neck.

Sly couldn't breathe.

The dark tiger's eyes had flown around the room in panic, not really seeing anything. No, what Sly was seeing was years ago when he was just a cub, a baby really. He was choking. His throat had clogged up and, my god, he couldn't get air in his lungs. They burned like his insides were on _fire_.

Ty sat catatonic as someone got hold of an epi pen and slammed it into Sly's leg. Ty winced as his darker furred brother let out a sharp snarl which tapered off into a whimper. A _whimper_. Ty pretended not to see Sly mouthing the word _"No" _over and over. He shut his eyes and felt the anger rise in his body. The golden tiger clenched his fist hard and felt the urge to make the lizards who had hurt Sly **pay **and not for the first time. But Sly was a lot more important.

As it turns out, Sly is allergic to peanuts.

No one, not even Sly himself, had known until the tiger started gasping for air that just wasn't getting in his lungs. Ty felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and turned to see Shazza, eyes brimming with tears, smiling weakly at him.

"He'll be fine, Possum." She offered weakly, eyes trained on Ty. Ty said nothing but his expression said it all.

"But he was fine just a minute ago..." Ty whispered, voice rough.

It was true, everything was rather relaxed before the incident. Ty had dragged Sly (literarily) into town and they were enjoying a simple picnic with Shazza. Sly was relaxed for the first time in a long time and Ty was overjoyed to see Sly participating in conversation with someone who wasn't family. Then Sly had just collapsed on the way home, throat closing up and eyes seeking out anyone to help. Ty had seen the panic in Sly's eyes and that had chilled him to the core.

Sly was always in control unless his nightmares hit.

Ty tried to remind himself that he was awake.

"_But it still feels like a nightmare I just wake up from."_

When Sly's head lolled and he groaned, hands flying to his head, Ty blinked back the fear he had felt build up. Sly was going to be just fine. That's what the medics said.

But until Ty was sure that Sly was most definitely and securely fine, Ty knew that he wouldn't be letting his older brother out of his sight.

Ty was sure that when he was sure Sly was OK, only then would Ty be able to breathe again.

...

**I'm just going to be trying to churn these out now as a "Sorry I disappeared" sort of thing.**

**Enjoy!**

**Elli x**


	11. Memory

Memory

Ty has memories of when he first met Sly, when his brother was working against him. They aren't very pleasant but occasionally, Ty finds himself musing on these memories. He compares that Sly with the one in front of him who is watching Shazza tune up her truck with great interest. It's unnerving the difference. Ty's Sly is more relaxed and confident and friendly.

Ty could remember the Sly that had first come when they had just figured out their parentage. He was scared. Of course, Sly the big bad scary Tiger wouldn't admit it but you could see it. The way he clung to people sometimes. Not physically but emotionally. Sly would reach out to Ty in social situations. He would shrink behind Ty's exuberant personality and hide.

For a few months, only Ty knew the real Sly. Only he knew the inventive guy with the wicked sense of humour. Everyone else just got the shy defensive front or the scary growling. But Sly had recently confessed how hard the snarling and growling thing was to keep under control. Ty understood that. He understood why Sly felt the need to try and scare people, to try and keep himself safe. There was a time when feeling safe was a happy little thought for the other tiger. Ty had heard first hand what Sly's life had been like with Cass when Sly had nightmares. The palatable panic in the orange tiger's voice when he was dreaming was sickening.

_Ty was sitting outside on the roof when the mumbling started. It was a cool night and Ty just couldn't sleep. So he went to go look at the stars. And then he started to hear the mumbles. The noise was a low sound and was littered with little sharp intakes of breath. There was only one person. Sly had stayed over for the night because he had fallen on the trip to his hut which resulted in the tigers' mother going all protective. Sly was fine of course but try telling that to Di. So Sly had given up and stayed at Bush Rescue that night to appease his mother. He didn't really mind. He was somewhat happy that someone cared enough to keep him close. _

_Ty crept down from the roof and listened at Sly's door._

"_Noooo. Don't...Please..." The golden tiger cringed at his big brother's whispers. How he wished Sly didn't have to live through that. He could imagine a tiny tiger surrounded by lizards and..._

Ty shook his head. No. He wasn't going to dwell on those thoughts. He wasn't going to pity his brother who wanted nothing to do with pity. He just wanted to ignore the fact his childhood was twisted and abusive. Ty knew that just ignoring the problem wasn't going to help either but whatever helped Sly was good enough for him. Ty sat in the sun and thought of the good memories. The ones which made him smile. Of Sly's face when his mother made him cake for his birthday. He had never had a proper party before and spent the entire day being completely embarrassed as he was made centre of attention. Or of Shazza's face when Sly decided to paint her car a luminous yellow with electric pink accents because she had made fun of his latest boomerang.

Yes, the good memories were better.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"I'm working here! Keep your grubby little mitts out of my engine!"

Ty watched as Sly sneer at Shazza who in return stuck her tongue out at him. Ty grinned. Yep, the good memories are much better.


	12. Insanity

Shazza stood in the middle of the Bush Rescue Headquarters, unable to comprehend the insanity that had just rolled through the building. Paint was smeared everywhere, tables over turned and general mess was everywhere. The dingo looked down at herself and wasn't too surprised to see her outfit completely splattered with multi coloured paint. Pink, red, green, blue and neon yellow were in her fur and her face was now half purple. She had half a mind to track down the two blurs that had shot through, caused chaos and then left just as quickly as they had come. The dingo reached down and righted a small table with now sported a _lovely _chip and an abstract art paint job.

Orange and violet?

Definitely go together.

Add a little green in there, why not?

Shazza went over to the hanger doors and stood out in the sunshine, shielding her eyes. She spotted the four by four and laughed.

Not a speck on it.

They obviously had learnt their lesson last time. The rest of the scenery hadn't been so lucky. Splodges of multi coloured paint artfully and liberally covered the scenery around her. Rocks now looked like they had chickenpox. Flowers had completely new colours that aren't found in nature. The gate to the town looked like a mural painted by children.

Children with no paint brushes.

Or supervisors.

Or any regards for colour.

Or wasting paint.

It basically looked like a massive mess of colour that assaulted the eye. Shazza couldn't hide a laugh at the faint figure that appeared within the mess. It looked as if someone got caught good there. The paint splats carried on down the rocks to the water below. The dingo followed the makeshift path and smiled at the thought of the two who had caused all this mess. She found the in the water, laughing like a pair of idiots.

Sly and Ty had paint guns aimed at each other and were trying to dodge each other's fire. Too bad they both were terrible at dodging. Ty's fur had been dyed an odd patchwork pattern with his face primarily blue and his torso a pretty pink. Sly hadn't fared much better. The orange tiger's fur was a mixture of green and purple with flecks of yellow appearing sporadically. They both looked a mess. But they obviously didn't care one bit. Ty was laughing like an idiot, his green eyes alight at the game while Sly couldn't hold back a few chuckles of his own. But his bright blue eyes were what stood out. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and didn't care about anything else at that point. Shazza leaned against the rocky face behind her and smiled softly. That was how they were supposed to act. Everyone wanted Ty to be a hero and Sly to either be out of the way or just like Ty. But here, right now, they were just brothers.

Unfortunately, they were brothers. And devious ones at that. So when Sly spotted Shazza, he gave a little mischievous grin. When Ty spotted his, he turned to see what Sly was grinning at. Then as one, the two tigers charged, paint gun raised.

"GET HER!"

That was all the warning Shazza needed to run full tilt up the slope as the two counterparts waded through the water at high speed to cover her even more in colour.

She was going to kill whoever suggested paintballing to Ty.


	13. Misfortune

Misfortune

Really. This was getting ridiculous. Sly the Tasmanian Tiger crossed his arms and made a face. Which lost a little bit of its ferocity considering he was upside down at the time. The tiger was suspended by the ankle from a rope the swung from the ceiling. He thought about how he got into this position.

He had just wanted to have a quiet day at home.

No dice.

Ty can burst into his house, yelling about some lizards and Cass and something and his brother having something to do with it or fixing it or something. Sly just stared at the golden wonder as he ranted and raved.

"So...what was that?"

" Frills!" Ty shrieked, fighting the urge to shake his brother.

"OK...What about them?" Sly asked, still not truly understanding what Ty was getting at.

"They've gotten into town and are causing trouble!" That's when Sly got it. Oh. _Ohhhh. _

"It's April the first, isn't it?"

"I am NOT kidding! This isn't some April Fool's joke!" Ty replied, his teeth bared. He looked stressed out and tired and he needed his brother's help. His brother who didn't seem very concerned about the situation.

"No, no, I don't mean that. I mean, the Frills have a thing on the first of April when they just try to have fun causing mischief. Really, they aren't trying to harm anyone." Sly smiled, his eyes glittering at the thought. That was the one day that it didn't matter that he wasn't a frill or wasn't the best. Yes, his tormentors were still cruel to him but the rest of the lizards just wanted his help in pranking everyone. I mean, Sly did get his name for a reason.

"Oh. I see." A little red started to show in the golden tiger's cheeks as he realised how much he had over reacted.

"Yeah. But I'm sure we better send them on their way before they cause anymore problems, yes?" Sly grinned and his little brother smiled back.

...

Yep. And then that's how the lizards spotted him and decided to get him back for swapping sides. So the orange brown tiger hung from the roof, upside down and not at all happy. He was never going to live this down. Ty was **never **going to let him forget this one. Ever. Sly grumbled to himself before the rope started to snap. The tiger looked up, panicked and begged at anything that would possibly listen to NOT let that rope break.

Too bad anything that had heard him had a cruel sense of humour.

Sly dropped to the floor with a thud and a very sore head. The tiger fought the urge to whine and got to his feet, swaying gently from side to side. Sly made a face as only one thing came to mind.

Oh luck. Thou art a heartless b*&^% sometimes.

Really.

Sly couldn't help but think that Ty barrelling into him (making him hit his head _again_) the next minute reinforced his statement.


End file.
